The Open Door
by PsychoSerpent
Summary: When Princess Bubblegum is forced out of the Candy Kingdom, no longer welcome as their Queen, how will Marceline react? Marceline thought everyone hated her, but was she wrong? This is story One of Three that I've had my mine on for a while. Rated for language and maybe some lovin'. Not sure yet. Yuri. Don't like, Don't read. I may continue it if people like it.
1. Chapter 1: Sweet Sacrifice

**Chapter 1: Sweet Sacrifice**

Marceline couldn't remember being outside for weeks.

She had gotten into the habit of remaining locked inside of her house, secure in the dark damp cave walls surrounding her. Marceline kicked off from the ground and hovered, floating just above her couch that she never used. She remembered the last time it was used; Finn and Jake had arrived for a visit a few weeks back.

That was also the last time she had ever gone outside.

Finn and Jake were long gone now, off doing who-knows-what. Marceline the Vampire Queen propped her Axe-bass on her lap and started to play. Her fingers were familiar with the chords and she hardly had to look at the strings to know that she was playing them correctly.

Her eyes wandered around the room while her mind traveled elsewhere. There were so many reasons why Marceline hadn't been outside.

Marceline remembered back to that fateful day, three weeks ago.

Finn was smiling when the Vampire Queen opened the door and she wondered if he was always this happy.

Jake trotted in behind Finn, making sure to avoid Marceline's gaze; he had never really approved of the vampire. Both Finn and Jake sat upon the couch and Finn's smile faded.

"Marceline," he said, solemnly, "It's Princess Bubblegum. I don't know what's wrong but she wants to speak to you."

The raven-haired girl straightened and she stared around the room. What did the _Perfect Princess_ need _her_ for? She had fought multiple times with the Candy Kingdom ruler. Their recent fight had been the worst, with much name-calling and backstabbing quotes.

So why did _she_ need the _Imperfect Vampire Queen?_

Marceline was just too hurt to even think about the Pink Wonder.

Finn gave her a sympathetic look and stood, heading for the door. He huffed and looked back at her one last time, knowing that Marceline wasn't going to respond.

"It sounded important," Finn said, as Jake passed him and left through the door, "She just… sounded upset and worried about something. I just thought you weren't _that_ heartless. I thought you cared."

And with that, he was gone. Marceline hadn't seen him since.

She was staring at her fingers on the frets when she snapped back to reality. She didn't even remember telling them to stop playing, but she was glad. She was left in silence for a few minutes, as she remembered the look on Finn's disappointed face when he left her alone.

The Vampire took in a deep breath of unneeded oxygen and placed her bass on its black holster. She hovered just above the ground and headed to the kitchen. When she opened the fridge, she noticed a white plastic bag folded over itself on the bottom shelf.

Pulling it out, she placed it on the counter and slowly opened it. She let out a pained puff of air, grimacing at what she found.

She still remembered when she had gotten it.

Right after the door had closed behind Finn three whole weeks ago, she had reopened the door, wanting, perhaps, to apologize or tell him to come back. But as she stepped out to trail after him, she tripped over a package that was left on the front doorstep. It was the white plastic bag, tied tightly and folded in half.

She brought it inside, examining the way it was tied. It was tied in a very precise and even knot. Then, she noticed the white slip of paper sticking out of the side of the wrapping.

On the front it read, "From PB."

On the back, she saw Finn's handwriting and read aloud, "Peebs wanted me to give this to you. She thought it would make you feel better after she told you." With a sigh, Marceline opened the package.

She had to stare at it for a long time before she realized what it was. It was a fist-sized ball of bright pink gum. She seemed to stare at it even longer once she recognized it.

She had vowed to keep it with her, not wanting anyone to find out that she had kept it, and there it sat – for almost a month – in the bottom of her fridge.

Marceline knew she was going to regret it, but she lifted the ball of pink and kneaded it between her fingers for a few moments, until it was soft again.

Then, holding it tightly against her chest, she flew to the bedroom. The sun had started to rise outside of her little cave, and she yawned, stifling it with her arm.

She was lost in her thoughts as she hovered above her bed, holding the piece of Bubblegum against her. And then she slept better than she had in days.


	2. Chapter 2: Call Me When You

**Chapter 2: Call me when you're sober**

Waking up to the sound of a knock on the door was never good news at Marcy's house. She found the gum, still pressed tightly into her arms, and placed it on her pillow gently, before rushing to the door. She ran a hand through her unruly hair whilst opening the door to reveal none other than Finn.

Jake was not with him, and this worried Marceline more than the look on his face. She could hardly remember the last time she had ever seen them apart. Before she could get a word in, Finn pushed past her and sat on the stiff, unused couch.

Marceline closed the door and wordlessly flew over to stand in front of Finn.

"I don't have to listen to you," Marceline said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll make you listen," Finn retaliated calmly, his expression not changing, "You have to. Princess Bubblegum is… well there's something going on with her. I haven't seen her outside of the Candy Castle in days and she won't talk to me in person."

Marceline was about to ask why he thought she cared, because maybe the Princess was just going through a phase or something.

But, Finn saw it coming and quickly said, "She needs you. I don't know why. She said that she needs _you_ of all people." Finn's face distorted in disgust and Marceline felt a pang of something hard in her chest.

"And you will talk to her," Finn said, still frowning, "you disgusting piece of shit."

With that, he stood and left her alone in a deafening silence. Marceline's mouth had dropped open at Finn's last words to her. She still stood, looking in the direction of the door that he had slammed.

In the entirety of the vampire's life, she had never heard Finn cuss.

When she looked back down at the couch, Marceline noticed another white plastic bag, just like the first one, sitting in the spot that Finn had been sitting in. She carried it to the kitchen, looking for a note like the first one had.

She gripped the edges of the package and tore it open. Just like when she opened the first gift, she stared at it in disbelief and horror as her mind slowly processed it.

It was the black band shirt she had given Princess Bubblegum, way back when. She could now hardly make out the image. The sleeves were torn off and it looked like someone had attacked it with a pair of scissors.

Threads were torn and frayed, laying open the shirt, and causing the image to become faded and ripped.

Marceline's eyes filled with tears of rage, but they wouldn't fall, she had learned.

Snatching the rags that were left of her once-favorite shirt, she threw it as hard as she could at the opposite wall.

She leaned against the fridge, both hands covering her mouth and the plastic bag forgotten on the floor. She sank down to meet it, and pulled her knees tightly to her chest, her vision blurred so much with anger and hurt and betrayal.

Her hands still covered her mouth tightly, as though she would scream and cry if she took them away. She screwed her eyes shut, willing the impression of her torn and mangled shirt to leave her mind.

When she opened them again, she could see, but it was as though through a thin film. With a start, she recognized a familiar strip of paper, fallen from the sleeve of the thing she didn't want to look at.

She crawled to it, not wanting to get up, and lifted it close enough to read, "I hope this is proof enough that something is wrong." It was in Finn's handwriting.

It all happened so fast, Marceline only remembered bits and pieces of it. She had yanked up the shirt, and threw it in the trash can, storming to her room and grabbing her Axe-bass. She threw it so hard at the wall that the blade sunk into it and was stuck. She kicked her bedside table and the lamp flew off, landing a few feet away and smashing to pieces. She punched the wall, but couldn't feel the pain of impact; she was so blinded with rage. With her final bit of adrenaline, she seized the gum ball from her pillow and hurled it into the hallway, slamming her door shut behind it.

Marceline, drained from her excursion, fell upon the bed and stared at the ceiling.

It felt like hours, days, maybe years later when Marceline finally stood. She retrieved her bass and replaced it on its stand. She swept up the broken lamp and tossed out the pieces. When she stepped into the hallway, she saw the gum, stuck to the wall.

She left it for now, not wanting to feel its sticky warmth. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, there was a knock on the front door.

She sighed, hoping and praying that it was Finn so she could say sorry and they could get on with their lives.

But, of course, nothing ever works out the way Marceline wants it to.

She opened the door to a red-and-white striped face staring up at her from the ground. "Peppermint Butler," she said, rather than asked, "What are you doing here?"

Peppermint had never really taken a liking to Marceline, and thought she was just as terrifying as most of the Candy People thought she was.

Nevertheless, he was on a mission and he said, "The Princess has cordially invited you to the Candy Castle. She wishes to speak to you about important matters."

"What important matters?" Marceline repeated.

"I'm not to tell you!" Peppermint Butler suddenly shouted, "You are to arrive at eight tonight, dressed appropriately and nicely! Good day to you, Queen." He stomped away as fast as his angry little Peppermint feet could manage.

Marceline was just as surprised about Peppermint Butler's outburst as with Finn's. She knew everyone hated her, but this was a little too far.

She hid back inside the safety of her house, glad that the sun couldn't reach her front door from the position it was in.

Without looking back, Marceline flew back to her room, observing the crack in the wall, formed from her bass, and the wrinkled sheets from her rest. She had never tended to use the bed, so the sheets were never wrinkly.

With that thought in mind, Marceline began to straighten the bed and covering the hole with a poster. With a rush of pain, Marceline saw that she was covering the piece of wall with a poster that had the same band album cover as the one on the shirt that now lay shredded in her trash.


	3. Chapter 3: Weight of the World

**Chapter 3: Weight of the World**

It wasn't until seven o'clock that Marceline remembered to get ready.

She was told to dress fancy but, having never gone anywhere that desired it before, she had nothing nice to wear.

So, instead, she slipped on her dark purple strapless dress and black and grey striped tights. She fastened on her shiny black shoes and tucked her hair behind her ears.

Deciding not to bring her bass, she flew out into the night, at exactly eight o'clock.

When she got to the Candy Kingdom, it looked completely deserted. Normally at this time, you could still see a million little lights on and pieces of conscious candy wandering the streets… but not tonight.

Tonight, it was so dark that Marceline feared she wouldn't be able to see anything at all, if not for her vampire vision.

Not a single person was on the road, and every candy house lay undisturbed. Other than that, the Candy Kingdom looked exactly the same as it had the last time Marceline had seen it.

The night air was cold and the winds whipped her hair around her face. Her eyes glowed red as she stared up at the Candy Castle. A few of its many windows were lit up brightly from the inside.

She flew to one of the top windows; one with its light on. She peered inside and saw that everything was pink, from the ceiling and the walls, to the furniture and the person on the bed. Marceline recognized her immediately.

Effortlessly opening the window, Marceline flew into the room, and the girl on the bed, her face previously shoved into a pillow, jumped to her feet.

"Marceline!" Princess Bubblegum cried, furiously wiping her face. From the looks of things, she had been sobbing terribly into her pillow.

"The meeting is in a few moments," the Princess hiccupped from her tears, "I was just waiting for you…"

Marceline cut her off, one hand in the air. "Bonnie, I don't think I'm going to this meeting."

Princess Bubblegum's gaze was sincere. Tears started to resume falling down her face.

"Bonnie," Marceline said carefully, inching towards to crying Princess. "What's wrong? What's this meeting about?" With a sudden lurch forward, Bubblegum landed in Marceline's arms, sobbing loudly and hiccupping wetly.

The Queen cautiously laid her arms around the Princess. She shushed her softly and whispered in her ear, "What has gotten into you? Where's your pumped up spirit?"

PB lifted her head and looked her in the face, her own eyes flooded with sweet – tinted pink – water. Her shoulders were shaking harder than they had been before, from the urge to hold back her tears.

Marcy half-carried, half-dragged the Princess out onto her little balcony. Moonlight coated the whole of the Candy Kingdom and all of its blacked out windows.

Bonnibel cleared her throat quietly, tears dripping from her chin onto the railing of the balcony.

"Marcy," she said quietly, watery, "I need you, Marcy. Help me." Marceline didn't speak a word, just stared at the Princess, waiting for her to continue. The Candy Princess wrapped her arms tightly around Marceline and clung to her like a life support.

"I was in my room, readying for bed," the pink girl suddenly said, "I was wearing the band shirt you gave me. I was tying my hair in a ponytail. They found me, Marcy. The Royal Guardians found me and thought me not fit to be Princess. They took the shirt… They… They ripped it, not me."

Marceline was trying to keep up, as the Princess was speaking quickly.

"They are to take my crown tomorrow morning, Marcy," the use of Marceline's nickname so much gave her stomach a flip. "I am to be banished from the Candy Kingdom!" She was stuttering by the end of it, but Marceline's jaw still dropped.

"They saw you with my shirt and thought you were a bad Princess?" Marceline concluded, trying to understand. "Why would they do that?" She was getting upset and you could hear it in her voice, see it on her face.

"I don't know why. I was singing one of your songs when they found me in my room. I don't understand!" The Princess's tears began to pour harder now, running down her face in streams.

"They can't do that, Bonnie," now Marceline's eyes were filling with tears. "They can't just cut you off from the Kingdom like that. You're an amazing princess. You haven't done anything wrong before right?"

Bonnibel gave a little smile at that. "And you have taken great care of this place so far right? So what makes them think that because of what you wear or what you sing you are unfit to rule?" Marceline was practically yelling now.

"That's not all," Bonnie whispered, "I… I told them that I had your shirt and that I was singing your songs because I thought of you as a friend. And that part is true. I don't hate you, Marceline the Vampire Queen."


	4. Chapter 4: Lithium

**Chapter 4: Lithium**

The news that she wasn't hated by the former ruler of the Candy Kingdom should not have been that much of a surprise to Marceline, but her jaw dropped open and she stared open-mouthed at the Princess.

Bonnibel gave a short little laugh and smiled up at Marceline. "Why would I hate you?" the Princess laughed.

"Because," Marceline said, insisting, "You've always hated me. We fight all the time! You should hate me for everything I do!" Marceline didn't understand why she was pushing it, she had just known that everyone hated her and had gotten used to them saying so.

Bonnibel shook her head. "Of course not," she whispered. "I think you're a fascinating species. Yeah, we fight sometimes. But so do best friends." She looked hopefully into the Vampire Queen's eyes.

"You consider us… friends?" Marceline repeated, leaning towards the pink Princess.

"_Best_ friends," Bonnie replied.

Suddenly, Marceline felt another pain in her chest and she jumped forward, squeezing Princess Bubblegum. Her shoulders shook, but tears would not escape her. She didn't like to cry – it made her feel inferior – but sometimes she just wished a single tear could fall.

Bonnie hugged Marcy back, holding her tight in her grasp. At that instant, footsteps pounded up the stairs and a fist rapped against the door.

"Go," Bonnibel said, pushing Marceline away, "They're here to escort me to the meeting. You said you didn't want to attend, yes? Then, _go!_" With a final push, Marcy leaped off the balcony and soared home, not daring to look back.

When Marcy flew into her cave, her first thought was that someone was inside of her house. The light was on and she could see it through the window, but she had remembered turning it off on her way out.

She landed on the steps leading to her front door and slowly, silently, snuck inside. She could hear rattling coming from the kitchen. She could see the fridge door being opened.

"Hello?" she called out. She heard a gasp and something fall to the floor and break.

Finn's head popped around the wall and he looked at Marceline in shock.

"I thought you were at the meeting," he said, "I was just, um…"

Without warning, Marceline's eyes narrowed and she flew to Finn, pushing him to the ground. She was filled with such a rage for him, and she didn't even really know why.

She hovered just above his body, one fist in her shirt and the other raised in the air. She brought her raised fist down hard and managed to connect it with his cheek, sending his head jerking to the side.

"Wait!" Finn cried, "Stop!" But Marceline didn't want to stop. Finn had caused this, had caused her pain. He had brought her the bubblegum that hurt her chest to look at. He had brought her the band shirt that she had loved so much and rubbed it in her face. He had caused her so much sorrow.

She pulled her fist back again, but this time, Finn dodged his head to the side. Her knuckles connected with the ground and Finn wrapped his fingers around her wrist, tightening them and keeping her hand immobile.

"There's a reason," he said, gasping, "There's a reason I'm here."

"Then _talk_!" Marceline spat, eyes glowing red. Finn pushed Marceline's shoulder enough to knock her over and jumped to his feet, sprinting out the door.

The windows in the door rattled as the door slammed shut. Marceline was breathing harshly out her nose. Her face was almost red from anger.

She was still on the ground, and she pounded her fist into the floor over and over again. Her knuckles started to tear, but she didn't care. If she could bleed, she would be.

Soon, the pain hit her through her rage and she stopped, standing and walking to the door. She smashed a fist against the wood of the door, and then laid her forehead on one of the windows. Her throat contracted and she wanted to cry in pain, in frustration, in rage, but she knew, again, that she wouldn't be able to.

Marceline closed her eyes tightly and took in a shaky breath. All of her muscles were tensed in a sort of adrenaline rush.

Finally, Marceline straightened and examined her cut knuckles as she walked to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and saw yet another white plastic package, tied carefully and straight.

Marceline, tired of the games, slammed the refrigerator shut and walked to her room. She realized later that she had almost never walked this much, she always flew.

When she got to her room, she floated above the bed and tried to make sense of everything that had happened. She was confused, hurt, betrayed, yelled at, hugged, hated, and – dare she say it? – loved.


	5. Chapter 5: Cloud Nine

_SO sorry that I didn't get to upload this sooner. I just really haven't had much inspiration yet! If you have a song or something that you think will help me get ideas, I would appreciate it! _**  
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**Chapter 5: Cloud Nine**

By the time Marceline was tired enough to sleep, a tap came to her ears. It was coming from the front door. Marceline sighed and grabbed a small blanket. She wrapped it around her shoulders and flew to the door. She flung it open.

There, on the threshold, stood Finn. Memories of earlier flooded Marceline's mind and she was about to pull a fist back when Finn stepped off the steps and held his hands up.

"I'm here on duty," he said, "The Princess wants to see you." Marceline was getting called to see the Princess more and more often.

She growled, not trusting herself to speak to the boy, and made to close the door. A foot stopped the door in its tracks. Marceline reopened the door. Finn stood there, looking at her with such contempt.

"Did you get the package?" Finn said. Marceline scoffed.

"I refuse to look at it," Marceline said, "I haven't opened it."

"You need to," Finn retaliated. "It's from the Princess. She needs you." And he left.

Marceline shook her head to clear her mind. Closing the door, she thought about the packages again. They seemed to only bring her regret. As she flew back to her room, she saw the gum, still stuck to her wall. Before she got a chance to close herself back up in her room, she grunted and pulled the gum from the wallpaper.

She pulled it between her fingers as she walked to her bed. It was soft as silk and pink as… well, pink as Bubblegum.

The next night, Marceline woke and stretched, finding the gum once again in her arms. She dressed in her tank top, jeans, and boots and tucked the gum into her back pocket.

Before she left, Marceline closed her eyes and thought. She thought about the Princess, she thought about Finn. She thought about the gum in her pocket, and she thought about the shirt in her trash. With one last fleeting thought, she opened the fridge and grabbed the third package.

She opened it, expecting to find something else that would hurt her heart, but found only two pieces of paper. One was a picture of Princess Bubblegum's crown. It was lying in a tub of some kind of clear liquid and it was smashed and dented everywhere.

The other piece of paper was a note. It said, 'They've done it. I am no longer the Princess of the Candy Kingdom.'

Marceline had rushed out of the door so fast, she didn't even realize that the sun was still out. It was setting, and the sky was pink – like gum.

She had to wait just inside the mouth of her cave for a minute, wishing the sun would go down faster. Then she flew as fast as she could to the Candy Kingdom.

When she got there, it was in the same state as when she had visited the first time. The lights were all off and no Candy People were out to be seen.

Marceline looked to the Castle, and saw only one light on in the entire structure. She flew up to it and noticed that it was Princess Bubblegum's room. She flew in, just like last time, and, again, the Princess jumped to her feet in surprise.

Without a word from either of them, they met in the center of the room and tightly gripped each other in an awkward embrace.

The Vampire Queen ran a hand up and down the Princess's back in comfort.

When they pulled away, they only stared at each other, trying to find the words.

Marceline was the first to speak. "I see you've packed all of your things, Princess." Marceline only now looked around the room and realized that everything was packed neatly into a box. Each box had a stamp on the side with a silhouette of the Candy Castle.

Bonnibel gave a weak smile and replied tenderly, "I'm not a Princess anymore. Call me Bubblegum."

Marceline's breathing started to become ragged. "But that would ruin the fun, P-Princess," she stuttered. Her eyes were big in her head and she continued blinking, as though holding back the tears that wouldn't show up.

The former Princess had a few wet tears on her face, but none were falling. She clutched Marceline's arms and held them. "I'm no Princess," she said, "I was never meant to be one."

"Th-That's quitters talk," Marceline said, hanging her head, "You're not a quitter, right?"

"Right," Bubblegum whispered. "And you aren't either." Marcy blinked rapidly again.

"Marcy," Bubblegum said, after a minute, "Why is this upsetting you so much? You thought I hated you. And until the other day, that thought process hadn't changed. So why are you so upset about this?"

"I never thought it would happen to _you_," Marcy said, "I thought it would be _me_ that was kicked out of my ownership. I thought you were a great Princess. You were a great Princess to me…"


End file.
